2.5 stars.

Way too much happening, and yet, nothing happened at all. There were too many characters and they all sounded the same. I definitely didn't need six suspects when it's pretty obvious from the start who the villain was. I was bored the whole way through, and would have given this only two stars but for the ending. I was grateful for one last twist I didn't see coming. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. I also learned way too much about bird watching I never wanted to know.

Publishing 9 Dec 2021.

**Thanks to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for my advance copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK, Avon for the arc of this book. I am a huge fan of this author's "silent" series. This book had an interesting premise, and if you liked "locked room" thrillers, you will like this one. I didn't love any of the characters, and kept confusing the men because they were so similar. The story was creepy and so much was going on, though some of the "lost in the woods" went on too long. The end was a surprise, and the VERY end was even more of a surprise, but maybe a bit over the top.

A killer is on the loose hunting the nature lovers on Boxing Day at the bird hide. The victim said he knew their secrets. A final twist at the end but, for me, I didn't really understand the motive of the perp in the final twist. There was no real reason for the hatred and this is why I couldn't fully engage with the story. The characters were, for me, a bit antagonistic with no real reason for their actions. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon books for the chance to read and review this one. The last 25% gave my rating a little boost. By 50% I honestly didn’t know if I would abandon this book. The setting has all the creepy, snowy winter vibes. Most of the characters are unlikeable to the point of cringe. But I persevered in order to see how it turned out. I’m glad I did for the most part.

Hide is a thriller about a group of people on an outing at a wildlife sanctuary. After a murder, everyone is set off t hide and it goes from there. Oddly, this one did not really work for me even though I usually love the style of alternating chapters. It is a good thriller and I flew through the book. Interesting ending.

Thank you to the author, publishers Avon Books and NetGalley UK for access to this as an advance reader’s ebook. This is an honest and voluntary review.

Seven friends go into the woods. They all have secrets, and within a few hours of their trip beginning one of their number is dead.

There was a strong Agatha Christie vibe to this story of seven friends and six suspects for the murder of one of them. On the surface it’s an interest in wildlife which brings the group together, but almost all of them have other motives for being there. Late on Boxing Day they come to the closed nature reserve to watch the starlings fly in formation, but when one of the group is shot the remainder disagree on how best to get back to civilisation. Cue a night of stumbling around in the dark and snow as they try to reach a phone signal to call for help.

We get to see the story through the eyes of each of the seven group members with each chapter written in first person from a different character. That’s quite a challenging style to deliver tension through as it means the author has to have the characters avoid asking themselves quite obvious questions to avoid giving away what’s going on too soon.

Stylistically I found it disturbed the flow of the story too. Each new chapter is headed with the name of the person now speaking. However, I don’t tend to read chapter headings, if I’m caught up in a story I don’t even notice I’m on a new chapter. The problem with that in this story was that I kept getting lost, realising several paragraphs in that we were now hearing a different character’s perspective and then having to flick back to the chapter header to find out who it was. It definitely disrupted the flow for me.

ⒷⓄⓄⓀ ⓇⒺⓋⒾⒺⓌ
Hide
Author: Nell Pattison
Genre: Psychological thriller, Murder mystery
My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to the publisher Avon Books UK and Netgalley for sending this review copy to me.

The story starts with a group of people who works for a reservoir specially treating birds, deers and several other kinds of animals. The timeline of the story starts on the morning after Christmas, when the group is getting ready to meet up to see a rare murmuration of birds. Things are a little tense in the group, since none them are emotionally close to each other, and things definitely get a lot worse when they suddenly find one of the teammates dead from a shotgun wound, and another one hit in the head. They all panic and get divides into groups to be able to call for help, all the while suspecting each other of being the murderer.
The main attraction of the story is the suspense of running through the dark reservoir, the limit and map of which is not exactly known to anyone. On top of that, nobody can trust each other, the chase and run being unbearable and a cause for anxiety in most of the book. Almost after 80% of the book the main mystery comes into focus, and that is when things begin to clear up a little. If all the chase and run sequence could have been a little concrete, the story would wind up a long while back. Anyway, the treat at the end is the unveiling of the curtain to reveal the actual cause and motive of the whole incident, which also gives hint to a more sinister beginning of another story.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK for an advance copy of Hide, a stand-alone thriller set on a nature reserve in Lincolnshire.

Seven members of a walking group have assembled at the nature reserve on Boxing Day to watch a murmuration of starlings. They have the reserve to themselves because it is closed to the public when one of the group is murdered, leaving the others to suspect each other.

Initially I quite enjoyed Hide, but by the end I couldn’t have cared less. I liked the idea of each character having a first person narrative and secrets to be revealed, but it soon gets tediously each character gives their own take on the same events and makes plenty of references to their secrets without revealing anything until much later in the novel.

I thought, wrongly, that at some point the crime would be reported and the characters would give official accounts. No, the novel is all about the group’s efforts to get back to base from the far reaches of the reserve in the dark and snow. Much squabbling and extremely poor decision making ensues. Needless to say the reserve is a mobile black spot.

The nature of the alternating voices and the characters themselves make it difficult to identify with any one of them or to even care about what happens to them as they are mostly unpleasant.

The positives to the novel are a well concealed perpetrator and motive, an action packed finale and a great final twist.

First time for me reading this author, but it won’t be my last. This was a fast paced thriller that kept me guessing. Love it!
Thanks to NetGalley, author and publisher for an advance digital copy in exchange for a honest review.

Hide is a taut edge-of-your-seat thriller, and it was so good I could only read it when my son was asleep because once I was reading I lost myself in it.

“As I see their face turn in my direction, their eyes light on me and narrow. I feel a jolt of fear. Is this the killer? I have a horrible feeling I’m right though I don’t know why did it, or why they’re after me now. All I know is that I have to start running again.”

Lauren works at a nature reserve in Lincolnshire and along with her sister and five friends they get permission to visit the reserve on boxing day when it is usually closed to the public. The plan is to watch the starling murmuration but tensions within the group arise and before long on of their number is dead.

The thing I liked the most about Hide was that it was less about the murder and more about the interaction between the characters. It felt real and it kept me guessing right to the end.

I loved how twisty the book is and that you don’t know if one of their number Is the killer or if someone else is one the reserve and the weather and desolation of the reserve only add to the tension.

Also, its not often that I get to read books set in Lincolnshire and it always excited me when I come across one.

Hide was a solid five stars for me.

My thanks go out to Netgalley for the ARC copy of Nell Pattisons Hide. This is easily the furthest ahead book I have had a chance to read.

7 "friends" head to a nature reserve focused on bird watching. The park is closed because of a new years holiday,

With twists an turns Long the way you learn are a plenty and the character inter. There is murder on the air and this time it has nothing to do with crowds

Seven friends, all with secrets, go on a nature hike in an otherwise closed nature preserve, and one of them ends up dead. “Hide” is billed as an “escape room” type whodunnit, but unfortunately it lacks any sense of suspense or tension. The characters are all unlikeable and shallow, the dialogue is bland and repetitive (how many times are they going to say (‘he’s lost a lot of blood’ ?), and I wasn’t a fan of the birdwatching backstory. Although I really like this author’s “Silent” series, this book missed the mark. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Nell Pattinson and Avon Books UK for an ARC of Hide.
I found this to be an outstanding thriller full of tension and suspense.
A group of 7 people are meeting at the local nature reserve on Boxing Day, to view a starling murmuration.
I wouldn't call the 7 characters friends, more acquaintances with plenty of hidden secrets.
One of the group is shot and killed and from there we're led through the group's efforts to escape. Who is the killer? It could be anybody, I kept changing my mind. Mistrust is rife and heavy snows add to the claustrophobic feel of the book.
The story unfolds and I was able to work out any twist just before it happened - which I love to do.
A cliche but I was unable to put down this book!

An enjoyable thriller by Nell Pattison.
Seven friends go on a nature walk after Christmas. They are all hiding secrets which one of them seems to know. When one of them is murdered, they are all left suspecting one another.
With each chapter told from a different point of view, and their secrets gradually revealed, this story keeps you guessing until the end.

Seven birdwatchers set out into the nature reserve to watch a special bird murmuration. Some of them have known each other for years, some only a few months. After an altercation in the pub a few nights previously, there’s also tension between them. One of them, Alec, insinuated he knew all their secrets – and some of them really don’t want those secrets to get out. Not long into the hike, one of them is dead. Is the murderer someone in the group, or is someone on the reserve who shouldn’t be?

The ‘who is the murderer in the group’ trope is one of my absolute favourites and for some reason, I LOVE snowy settings! (Maybe because we don’t have any where I live, it just seems extra spooky 😄). I was kept guessing the whole time, not only about who the murderer could be, but about the secrets of the individual characters as well. I really enjoyed the suspenseful nature of this author’s writing and could just about feel the cold seeping into my bones through the pages! Emily was one of my favourite characters, deaf since she was a child, she had invented an app to assist people who are hearing impaired, making her fortune along the way. My least favourite character was her jealous, spiteful sister Lauren. What a piece of work she was!

Piecing together the puzzle, while the character’s secrets were revealed, was fun and engrossing. The chapters alternated between multiple points of view from each character, allowing us as the reader to be the only one discovering the real truth along the way.

If you love wintery murder mysteries that keep you guessing, add this one to your TBR!

Thank you so much NetGalley for allowing me to read this book for an unbiased review. Heart thuddingly (I made it up), suspenseful, atmospheric murder mystery with a superbly enticing plot, and an ending that I didn’t prepare my neck for! “Hide” had me gripped from the outset, and I read throughout the early hours as I didn’t want to leave the characters behind with a murderer.
Seven people who loosely know each other via the Nature Reserve; all with their own secrets; all with their own agenda embark on a ramble to view the starling murmuration, one is murdered and the others are all under suspicion from each other.
My heart pounded as each person had their own opportunity for narrative and perspective, and I am going to look for more books by this author. I can not wait to tell everyone this is a must read. Thank you again.

I have read Nell Pattison’s previous novels and have thoroughly enjoyed them and this is no exception.

A group of seven individuals are going out for a boxing day hike on a nature reserve to go bird watching. They all know each other and some are more friendly than others, creating conflict and tension from the beginning.

Two sisters, one of whom wears specialist hearing aids, who were estranged for several years are attending along with a small party who are allowed on the reserve even though it is closed to the public on Boxing Day.

Cleverly plotted with numerous twists and turns which is expected from this author and the ability to bring them all together for a tense, entertaining ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books and Nell Pattison for my ARC of Hide in return for my honest review.

Good read, recommended.

I will admit that I was surprised when I opened this to find out that the cover had completely misled me about the setting. Lots of snow and I assumed we would be in a snowy landscape. Half right - there was snow but we were on a nature reserve with bird-watchers! Nothing wrong with bird-watchers, I have been one myself. The thing with bird-watchers is that you get a very varied collection of individuals and that is the case here.

Lauren is a warden on the reserve and arranges for the little Nature Club to have access to the closed reserve on Boxing Day to watch the evening starling murmurations. So, 7 characters in the dusk in a closed nature reserve - the perfect ingredients for a claustrophobic thriller - and as one of the characters is deaf, that adds another level.

This group are together for the bird-watching, they are not really friends even though the blurb describes them as such. They are of different ages from twenties to seventies and they all seem to have secrets which Alec, the annoying birding geek of the group, seems to have discovered. As someone who has in the past volunteered on a reserve, I can catergorically state that people like Alec exist on every reserve. Anyway - when one of the group ends up murdered, the remaining six all look at each other with suspicion. As dusk becomes darkness and snow starts to fall, the group split to try to return to the centre to get help.

The story is told from each character's point of view - we hear their voice, their fears and their secrets. The game of cat and mouse is played with the reader as we have to decide who is a reliable narrator and who we can trust and who we need to fear. The finger of suspicion points first at one character and then at another and the threatening atmosphere within the woods where all is dark, where snow impedes vision is beautifully described.

Did I guess who did it? Not in the beginning. As secrets were revealed, motives for murder changed and so the 'murderer' changed. The ending does have a twist and while I had guessed a part of it, I had not foreseen the whole of it.

An enjoyable thriller from an author that I had not picked up before. Thank you Netgalley.

This was a fab atmospheric thriller featuring seven acquaintances on a Boxing Day bird watching trip on a closed nature reserve. When one member is shot in one of the hides it leaves the other six full of suspicion of the others. The isolated location, inclement weather and the dynamics between the group members made this a great page turner and I enjoyed reading the story from each different perspective. The individual stories gradually unfolded really well and the end was chilling. 9/10

I loved this book.
It's an intense thriller full of little twists and turns and secrets right up to the last page.
I loved learning about the different members of the group and the way the story is told from each of their point of views throughout the book
This definitely kept me interested and pulled me in to carry on reading until the end .